What motivated Clemson star Travis Etienne to play 2020 season as others sit out
Travis Etienne could have joined some of the other top players in college football who have opted out of the 2020 season and started preparing for the NFL draft.
Who could have blamed him?
Clemson’s star running back, who is projected as a first-round pick in next year’s draft by ESPN’s Todd McShay, has proven what he can do on the biggest stage in college football.
Etienne was named the ACC Player of the Year each of the past two years. And with uncertainty surrounding this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, going home to Louisiana and training while not being on a college campus might have been the best decision for his future.
But it was actually when Etienne was back home this summer that he made the decision to play college football this fall. He decided that sitting out while his teammates and friends played was not something he could do.
“Just going back home and seeing my nieces and my little brother, them playing sports and just seeing how pure the game was, the reason why we get into sports. Just remembering why I started playing football and why I fell in love with the game and just getting back to that,” Etienne said of what factored into his decision. “Just seeing my brothers out here grinding, it just forced me to want to get better and grind with them and just be the best player I can be.”
Etienne’s love for the purity of college football is also partly why he surprised many by announcing in January that he would return for his senior season.
There are more important things in life than money to Etienne, and that’s something he wants to show to his family. Even if there ends up being no college football this fall, Etienne still believes he made the right choice in returning for his senior year.
As of now, the ACC, SEC and Big 12 are planning on playing this fall, while the Big Ten and Pac-12 have moved their seasons to the spring.
“I wouldn’t have any regrets because it was my decision to come back. I definitely came back and got better on the field, off the field, mentally, physically, spiritually. I’ve learned so much more coming back, and I was able to show my little brother and my family there’s just so much more things to life than money,” Etienne said. “If the season doesn’t happen I’m still grateful that I came back. No looking back on the decision. I can’t change it. So I just made the most out of it, whether we have a season or not.”
If the ACC ends up joining the Big Ten and Pac-12 and postponing its season to the spring as well, Etienne would have to reevaluate his decision on playing. But for now, he is only focused on making his senior year his best yet.
“My big focus this summer was just becoming a pro at my position, being able to teach my position, being able to articulate the things I see within the field and being able to talk to people about the game of football and the way that they understand and just growing my knowledge of the game, my IQ of the game,” Etienne said. “Being able to coach someone no matter where they’re at in their career.”
Tony Elliott, Etienne’s position coach and Tigers offensive coordinator, believes that Etienne is off to a strong start in his quest to make his senior season special.
Etienne weighed in at 199 at the start of fall — about 10 pounds less than he played at last year.
The All-American is in arguably the best shape of his life and plans to play at between 200-210 pounds in 2020.
“Once he stepped on the practice field you could see the weight that he came in, he put in a lot of work,” Elliott said. “He’s got his head on his shoulders straight. And he’s trying to do what’s best for the long term and his future. And right now he’s looked as good as he’s ever looked.”
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 3:27 PM.
